We’ve covered games machines in our 12 Days of Christmas on Pocket-lint but we haven’t pressed the idea of any video games themselves as yet. Today is where all that changes and, provided you happen to know what your giftee’s currently playing, what they’ve got and what they haven’t, then you could be about to make them very happy indeed.

With so many big title releases in 2010, it was hard to pick the best one. Gran Turismo 5 finally arrived, Fable 3 would make a good gift and the likes of Red Dead Redemption and the latest in the Fallout series were close runners for game of the year in the Pocket-lint Awards. Yes, it was going to be a tough decision right up until the moment when this one was launched.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm - Collector’s Edition

That’s the word on the street. Cataclysm offers something slightly different to the first two WoW expansions editions. Rather than make new lands to travel, it’s more about an enormous revamp of what’s already there in terms of both the landscape and the quests available. Now that might sound less interesting but it’s going to bring all the players back to where it all began. Think of it like football coming home and all the players have been given jet packs to take things up a notch or two.

You can adjust the stats on your gear

Again, for those uninitiated, this is a good thing. Warcraft is all about loot and gear but the number of awesome bits and bobs that you managed to roll that just don’t quite work with your character set up are around 98 per cent of what you find. Reforging is a new skill which allows players to rejig the attributes of their items and so, in effect, it’s easy to get stuff that you’re after. Again, this is a very good thing.

You get to be a goblin or a wolf man

Before someone gets too upset, we’re aware that the correct term is “Worgen” but as a potential non-WoW playing present buyer, Worgen probably doesn’t sound as cool as it is. Sparing you the details of exactly how they ended up in Azeroth in the first place, the fact is that Worgen are a rather mean looking large species of feral wolf beast whose very name inspires fear. Consider yourself told. The point is that your giftee is going to get off on playing as one and get off hard. They’ll probably also dig running round as a goblin who themselves have only been NPCs until now.

You get an exclusive pet

No, it doesn’t come with a voucher for a gerbil and a bag of sawdust, this is an in-game pet we’re talking about and only those who purchased the limited edition box set will ever have it. Lil’ Deathwing is a mini-version of one of the games five famous dragon leaders and he will adorn the shoulder and environs of your giftee’s character on the plains of Azeroth forever more. It’s a nice touch and one other players will recognise; respect, plains cred and all that.

It looks good on your shelf

Most WoW players will probably never own this Collector's Edition - not because they wouldn’t want to but it’s very hard to coax them out of the house when you can just download a digital version of the expansion from the comfort of your own desk. As such, this box set will be a fairly rare and rather tasteful sight on your giftee's game shelf. It’s decorative as much as functional is what we’re saying here.

You get a bonus card game with it!

The addition of the World of Warcraft: Trading Card Game with 60-piece starter deck and exclusive cards means that the hardcore gamer in your life will now be able to play WoW even when nowhere near a computer or an internet connection. Whether feeding the addiction further is a good thing or not, we’ll leave to your discretion.

You get a limited edition WoW mouse mat!

Ok, so the idea of a novelty mouse mat is a little on the 90s side but this has got a big dragon and loads of flames on it and everything! Who isn’t going to want that?

You get a DVD!

Should your giftee be able to tear themselves away from actually play WoW for five minutes, they’ll be pleased to notice that the Collector's Edition comes with an exclusive behind the scenes DVD of how the game started up to where it is today. There’s over an hour of interviews, comment and all sorts of other Warcraft jazz that’ll make fans weak at the knees.

You get a CD!

Those long flights from one end of Kalimdor to the other can be a bit bloody tedious especially when all you’ve got to amuse yourself with is the sound of flapping wings and the odd roar. Instead though, all those in possession of this box set can use this time to listen to the exclusive game soundtrack CD featuring 17 orchestral music tracks from the Cataclysm expansion and the odd cheeky bonus as well.

You get an art book!

No, not that kind of art book. This is WoW porn instead. Art of the Cataclysm is a 176-page coffee table tomb with never before seen images from the Warcraft world including early sketches and right up to full graphic illustrations. If you ever stop playing for a cup of coffee or, more likely, a can of Relentless, it would make a good browse - so long as you can keep your hand steady enough to actually turn the pages.

It’ll get your giftee off the scene for months

Now, it might be that you’ve got an annoying sibling, you want to keep your child very quiet for a while or, perhaps, there’s a friend who’s after the affections of the same potential mate as you. Whatever the case, WoW Cataclysm will keep them well and truly out of the way for a very long time offering you piece and quiet/a clear run at the person of your dreams.

It’ll make someone very, very, happy indeed

WoW isn’t a game. It’s a way of life. Every minute you’re not playing it, you’re thinking about the next moves you’re going to make when you are. Chances are that the person you’re going to give this to would rather be roaming the zones of Azeroth than actually opening Christmas presents. So, to receive something they actually want will make them very happy indeed. Don't expect them to stick around for turkey though.